This time last year, the cherry blossom buds in High Park were ready to burst. The year before, they had already bloomed, thrilled the crowds and blown away by the end of April.

But this year, after the longest winter in Toronto’s collective memory, the white and pink petals that signal the beginning of spring are still under wraps, bound up by the polar vortex and its extreme cold. They aren’t expected to pop until mid-May or even later.

Toronto graphic designer and cherry blossom enthusiast Steve Joniak has been on “sakura watch” for weeks via his website, sakurainhighpark.com. Sakura is the Japanese name for the blossoms, and the tradition of “hanami” — flower viewing — dates back more than a thousand years in Japan.

The first sakura trees planted in Toronto were a gift from Japan in 1959, and though the blossoms last only about a week, they are eagerly awaited each year in Toronto. Thousands of locals and tourists descend on the west end’s High Park, especially the area near Grenadier Pond, for the show.

Jan. to April weather, 2000-2014

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“It’s one of the nicest signs that winter’s over and that the warm spring is coming,” said Joniak, or “Sakura Steve,” who lives near the park and walks over several times a week to track the blooms.

“I was a little concerned because the weather was so bad this year they wouldn’t survive, but luckily they survived with the ice storms and everything else,” he said, adding that April’s cool weather isn’t helping.

At the High Park Nature Centre, interpreter Mallory Parks looked at historical weather data and figured out that average March temperatures best predict what staff call “peak bloom.”

In 2012, the March average was around 7C. Last year, it hovered around one degree. This year, the average temperature was -2.6C.

Very little progress has been made by the buds so far, said Parks, who expects peak bloom to happen around May 19. It has taken place in late April or early May since the park started keeping track in 2006.

And there’s always the risk a cold snap could kill the still-green buds before they open, said executive director Natalie Harder. “The timing is really crucial.”

The centre has fielded so many “have they bloomed yet?” calls about the cherry blossoms it now keeps people informed on its own website. The latest update showed “promising green tips.”

“It comes during the part of spring when you start to feel everything’s turning around,” Harder said.

Stephen Hutchinson organizes an annual meet-up for photographers keen to capture the flowers. He had to postpone the event for all 102 people who had signed up for to visit High Park this weekend, and will likely reschedule for Victoria Day weekend.

“Last year it was May 3, (the blooms) were out, they were beautifully out,” he said Tuesday. “Come on, weather people. “Who do we complain to?”

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